Slashdot Mirror
Apple Unlikely to Make Big Changes for Next iPhone
The next iPhone isn't going to look much different from the last year's iPhone 6s, or 2014's iPhone 6. According to a WSJ report (paywalled; alternate source), Apple will release two new iPhone models with screen sizes 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch, and both the models will look pretty much similar to the last two year's models. There won't be any 3.5mm headphone port in the new iPhone, though, the report adds. The Cupertino-based company plans to introduce major design changes in its next iPhone, using OLED display and eliminating the home button to use the display for fingerprint scanning. From the report: For years, Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive has expressed a desire for the iPhone to appear like a single sheet of glass, according to people familiar with the matter. The current design ideas for the 2017 iPhones are expected to push the handsets in that direction by eliminating much of the bezel around the display, with the OLED screen.
This isn't a surprise. The next Intel chip won't be much different than the last one either. The next computer you own will be very similar to the one you owned 5 years prior. We have really reached an end of the digital road now. You won't likely see huge progress like we have seen in the past due to limitations of physics and power concerns. I know people will scream "Moores Law!!!" but that doesn't apply in 2016. It looks like the Star Trek type future won't be happening.
...why release a new one? I guess for suckers like my friend who has bought every single new version of the iPhone since day 1.
Tired of my customary (Score:1)
Apple is releasing a new product with little to no changes compared to the previous model, and yet still expects people to shell out hundreds of dollars for the new version? Sounds like they've finally figured out their customer base! Steve Jobs would be so proud ...
I can't believe that the next iPhone won't have a headphone jack. I think the world really isn't ready for this change. Personally I use Bluetooth headphones 80% of the time, but I think going that last 20% would be problematic. And if their headphone adapters are as resilient as their charging cables, this is going to end up being a major problem. I don't think that most people would go for a phone without a headphone jack. Even if they don't use it most of the time.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
This one is a pretty big leap. Most people who buy headphones I want them compatible with everything. I have some devices I plug into that are 10 years old and will still be used long into the future, and this means an audio cable. While I have an audio cable anyway, why would I want to pay a premium for in-headset bluetooth and at the cost of having to charge them all the time. When flash drives came out, USB was already prevelent and that was fine. I haven't looked for a thunderbolt hub for quite awhile but last I checked they were still a lot harder to find than usb hubs. Finally, I swear at apple every time I have to find my displayport adapter. I still have three working VGA monitors and the macbook is so far the only PC I have without a VGA or HDMI port.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
His Steviness the Jobs didn't make Apple what it is by doing the same thing over and over again.
Be bold! Make the corners pointed. Heck, stick bloody great spikes on them! Or even make them in black!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Yeah, I can't imagine why Apple would even consider going back to those glass backs. I was planning to upgrade my original iPhone as soon as they got a front-facing camera, but I ended up skipping the iPhone 4 and 4s precisely because the last thing I want is a fragile decorative element that does nothing but add risk.
Ironically, when I got the iPhone 5, I found it so thin that I kept dropping it, so I immediately put it in a case. I honestly don't understand why Apple even cares about the case design of phones anymore. The darn things are so hard to hold that nobody I know actually carries one without a case that completely hides Apple's industrial design anyway.
I don't know what's more horrifying—the idea of extra glass or the idea that the author of this story thinks that removing the iPhone's only analog I/O and forcing everybody to either use horrible, high-latency bluetooth or fragile, Apple-proprietary adapter cables doesn't constitute a big change.... It will be enough to make me skip two generations again.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Except that the jack connector is far from obsolete.
It is used on new products everywhere, in all price ranges, even Apple's earbuds use it. Quality-wise, it is more than enough for stereo audio signals within the range of human hearing, in fact you will be hard pressed to find a high-end headset that uses something else.